The present disclosure relates generally to harnessing energy and more particularly to improved methods, apparatus, and arrangements for extracting hydrogen, and optionally carbon dioxide, from a feedstock such as seawater.
In this specification where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge, or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned.
There is a compelling need for an environmentally responsible, economically efficient point-of-use generation system designed for producing hydrogen gas, without oxygen, for industrial, commercial and residential uses including uses as a fuel source or as a source for commercial or industrial grade hydrogen. There are many well-documented problems associated with over-reliance upon energy generated from fossil fuels. For example, pollution and climate change caused by the emission of greenhouse gases, finite and dwindling reserves of carbon-based energy sources, and concentration of petroleum-based supply in OPEC and other volatile countries are all well documented. There is an urgent need for alternative energy sources that can avoid the above-mentioned problems.
In addition to its use as a fuel, hydrogen has many industrial and commercial applications. At 99.9% purity for example, hydrogen can be used in electric power utility generator cooling, steel production, float glass plants, electronics such as semiconductor, photovoltaic cells, optics, hydrogenation of fats and oils, commercial, industrial and education laboratories, materials processing including heat treating, bright annealing, brazing, powder metallurgy, glass-to-metal sealing, and high performance coatings and meteorological uses such as the replacement for helium in lighter-than-air devices.
At less than 99%-pure form, it can be used in aerospace, animal feed, automotive, chemicals, ethanol, food processing including bakeries, beverage bottling, chip manufacturing of chips and snack foods, dairy and meat processing, general manufacturing, hospitals and medical centers, hotels, laundry and uniform services, marine and offshore, military installations, mining, oil and gas, paper/corrugating, pharmaceuticals, resorts and recreational facilities, rubber, steel and metals, tobacco, transportation, wire and cable, and universities, colleges, and community colleges.
There are a number of significant hurdles that prevent the widespread use of hydrogen in commercial, industrial, and residential applications. These hurdles include cost, efficiency, and safety. First and foremost, creating hydrogen gas in traditional manner is inefficient and costly, or even environmentally harmful when produced via reformation of natural gas—the primary commercial method. Secondly, hydrogen's very low mass and energy density makes it challenging to get enough mass of hydrogen gas safely in one place to be of practical value to a user. The result is that hydrogen has been prohibitively expensive to produce, compress, cryogenically cool, maintain (at pressure and temperature), contain (due to its very small diatomic molecule), and transport. Pressure, temperature, flammability, explosiveness, and low ignition energy requirement are all significant safety issues.
Nonetheless, if a method of producing and applying hydrogen were to address these issues, it would be a boon to world markets and humanity's quality of life. Thus, for at least the reasons explained above, there exists an increasingly urgent and compelling need for the safe and efficient production and use of hydrogen.
Hydrogen is typically generated from water or from natural gas, coal or oil reformation. The separation of hydrogen and oxygen in water presents efficiency and safety barriers. Water is composed of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen by mass or volume. Decomposed by any means, two moles of water will produce one mole of molecular or diatomic oxygen gas (O2) and two moles of molecular or diatomic hydrogen gas (H2) at a given input of energy E1. When combined together through any means, hydrogen and oxygen react to form water, releasing a given output of energy E2. By all known principles of physics and chemistry, E1>E2 and thus by thermodynamics, the process is not favored in direct action. Thus, production of hydrogen in an ideally useable form from water presents a number of challenges.
Some efforts have involved the dissociation of water through various techniques and arrangements to produce a “brown gas”. Brown gas is a gas obtained by electrolysis of water and is a mixed gas of hydrogen and oxygen in the ratio of 2:1. The combined presence of hydrogen and oxygen makes brown gas extremely volatile and explosive. Upon combustion, brown gas also burns at an exceedingly high temperature. Thus, for at least the reasons stated above, the use of brown gas as a fuel source is problematic. Technologies that produce brown gas are not suitable for safe, large scale hydrogen production.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate a description of exemplary embodiments, Applicants in no way disclaim these technical aspects, and it is contemplated that exemplary embodiments may encompass or include one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.